The Holy Spirit breezes his way from the Old Testament to the New. Even while everyone was teaching on the Father and meeting the Son in the flesh, the Spirit sits forefront in every major Biblical story while garnering little attention.
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:18Jesus was born through the Holy Spirit instead of just through the flesh. This points back to the Garden of Eden day when God breathed into Adam and Eve and filled them with the spirit at creation.
"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:6-8Jesus speaks of this phenomenon. We must choose to be re-born through the Spirit now to receive his guidance. Before our re-birth, we are dead, deaf, and blind, living our life without knowing where our feet are going or whether the ground beneath us will support us as we walk.
"And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38The New Testament is about a new Covenant between God and His people.
"But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." Hebrews 8:6-13 (NT)/Jeremiah 31:31-34(OT)
Now, all people, not just the Hebrews of the flesh, can be considered God's children and enter into the promises of the Spiritual Israel.
"Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." Romans 9:6-8
So, we all went from the laws of the flesh and covenant of the flesh to laws of the Spirit and covenant of the Spirit, which had in fact been around since the beginning. When Jesus gave his sermon on the mount, he spoke of how "thou shalt not kill" didn't just mean murder of the flesh, it meant also rage. He stated that adultery was not simply the act of the flesh, it meant also lust for a married person. He was describing the "Spirit" of the law, which had in fact been the intent all along. However, now, our covenant itself centers on the spirit of the law, which can be ascertained by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
"If you love me, you will obey my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn't see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you." John 14:15-17
In a way, this covenant is stricter than the one before.
This new covenant (or New Testament as you will) is all about the Kingdom of God, which exists as a spiritual community of believers who live their lives in such a way as to reflect the Kingdom of God to come. We are called to bring others into the Kingdom so that they, too, may be guided by the Holy Spirit.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19
The entire New Testament is a big arrow pointing to the future, the new heavens and earth that will be a perfection of the Kingdom of God. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, wants everyone to be there where the world will be like a renewed Eden, a fountain of eternal life. He invites the world to His new world, and He wants us to invite others too as we are a reflection of Him. In the end, the Holy Spirit will be there with us as he was in the beginning. The Father, Son, and Spirit being an eternal trio.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let anyone who hears this say, 'Come.' Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life." Revelation 22:16-17
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